The present invention relates to an optical disk player having a magazine for storing disks which permits the playing of a selected disk from the magazine, and more particularly, to a disk player having a disk reader with a drive mechanism for clamping the selected disk and a magazine with an alignment mechanism where both the mechanisms are driven by a common motor.
Disk players having magazines for storing disks typically provide a selecting apparatus for transporting a selected disk from the magazine to a disk reader or an ejection position. One such disk player is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,001. The disclosed disk player provides trays for holding disks which are transported between ejection, playback, and storage positions, wherein the storage position has a selected disk positioned within the magazine. The disks are arranged concentrically within the magazine and the magazine is driven by a vertical drive mechanism in a first direction perpendicular to the disks and relative to a disk reader. Disks are transported by a disk transport mechanism in a straight line in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. Disks in the playback position are completely removed from the magazine and are lowered onto a turntable by a disk clamping mechanism.
While the above design provides for effective operation, dedicated driving motors are required for both the vertical drive mechanism for the magazine and the disk clamping mechanism. This type of design having a dedicated drive source for each function increases the cost of components and manufacture. Furthermore, the number of parts associated with dedicated drive sources makes it difficult to reduce a size of the disk player. Thus, eliminating drive sources by driving more than one mechanism from a common drive source would provide numerous advantages.